The soldiers return

No government likes a prisoner swap,unless the gains substantially outweigh their price. The Egyptian-mediated deal between Israel and Hamas to bring Sgt Gilad Shalit home,cleared by Binyamin Netanyahus cabinet,is going to cost Israel 1,027 prisoners in two batches,many of whom are old and hardened terrorists. This will be Israels seventh major prisoner exchange,the last being the July 2008 release of Lebanese militant Samir Kantar,four Hezbollah operatives and the bodies of several others in return for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers whose capture had sparked off the 2006 war with Lebanon. Traditionally,Israelis who lose loved ones to terror or kidnapping disapprove of swaps; yet theres been a groundswell in favour of Shalit. Having gone back and forth,with total collapses,and stretching over two Israeli administrations,this deal comes around Shalits 1,935th day in captivity.

Hamas is the conspicuous winner. With its support dwindling in the West Bank and popularity declining in the Gaza Strip,Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas UN bid for statehood couldnt have come at a worse moment for Hamas. Now the militants have turned the clock back again,with Abbas bid overshadowed by the giant celebratory rallies. Nevertheless,the deal marks a historic achievement post-Arab Spring in that both Israel and Hamas compromised. Hamas,worried about the turmoil around and most notably in benefactor Syria,settled for a lower figure and looser choice,the deportation of many freed prisoners from Gaza,and the continued imprisonment of some top leaders like Abdullah Barghouti.

Its also a relief for the beleaguered Egyptian government,which succeeded where German and Turkish mediators couldnt. Next Sunday marks the 25th anniversary of air force navigator Ron Arads capture. He never returned. Behind PM Netanyahus allegedly political move,lay Israelis desire not to inflict Arads fate on Shalit,captured when he was just 19,five long years ago.